It's Steampunk Time

I'd had the feeling last fall Steampunk had reached its peak, but was I ever wrong. On Etsy, it's flourishing. I have never seen so many people flooding the market with these creations, and while many items really have almost nothing to do with the actual original aesthetic, (including mine) they continue to be offered. It's kind of catch-all phrase now that is applied to any with with gears, cogs, hardware, and any fashion that looks deconstructed or vaguely Victorian.





I've only made a few pieces but I do have a good seller that's a pair of earrings made of vintage pen nibs and watch gears. I finally made a bunch today, all similar, for the shop. I think they're great for writer ladies and must try to keep a pair back for myself one day. They are offered with sterling silver or brass ear wires.

I also made a Steampunk Valentine necklace, which I'm fond of, inspired by these wee glass sew-on beads, or Victorian sequins, from SeriousBeader on Etsy, as I've always called them. They're somewhat rare; I have them in gunmetal and blue iris, which I've used in my North & South Widgets, but I hadn't seen them in red, and as I LOOOOVE red, I was on them in a flash. I think the necklace is a nice change from the usual Valentine fare (which I also make!) and perfect for lovers (heh) of grunge and romance.

In Which I Snag A Treasury

I was watching "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" on PBS and quite by accident, a space popped up in the Etsy Treasury and I grabbed it. It was the first thing that I thought of, but I hadn't prepared anything, so I spent an hour searching for items, and it was HARD. I didn't find all that I was hoping to, but I probably would have if I'd had another two hours. I think it's an evocative list...do you?

Red and Green Holiday Shaggy Creatures

You know that things are tough when ELMO has taken to begging on the street!


A somewhat yellowing Dinosaur Tree in front of the Museum of Natural History on a rainy day this past week.

There Are No Words

Except for two: Richard Armitage. Not the former Secretary of State, but this Guy, British actor. I'm a deranged fangurl all over again; it was David Cassidy 24/7 once upon a time in the last century, but for the last two years it has been this Guy. That's a very sad pun; he plays Guy of Gisborne in the BBC's Robin Hood series, which will be on its third (and last?) season this spring in the UK, but who knows when it will hit the States. This is a picture of Guy's new look, which for me is a welcome change from the black leather of the last 2 seasons. Hey, there is nothing wrong with black leather on a handsome man, but it was getting a little repetitious and not more than a little unhygienic. It's such a relief for the eye to look at colors and textures that vary, and as they have a new costume designer this season, he/she was probably eager to make their mark. On Richard. And who wouldn't?


This still is from Season 2, with Keith Allen as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Lucy Griffiths as Marian. Don't let's get started on what she's wearing! Maybe I'll do another post on a deconstruction of series 1 & 2's costumes, which play fast and loose with history, to say the least! Le's just take a moment to admire the sleek shiny goodness on the left that we hear has been sent to wardrobe storage oblivion.


Season 1 was notable for the presence of the textured mustard yellow neck wrap that added a surprisingly 1980's touch to Guy's racing leathers. The embossed black leather Australian outback coat has NOTHING on those gauntlets with their wolfs-head brass knuckles.

If you don't know Richard Armitage, you can check out this comprehensive and dignified website. After you've done that, your absolute first required viewing is this gem.


In North & South, Richard plays John Thornton, a cotton mill owner in mid-19th century Northern England, who meets and falls in love with Margaret Hale, a young woman from the South of England who has come to town (Milton) with her ex-minister father and ailing mother. Much drama and heartache follow (I'll say no more in case I spoil the plot for you) but it's perfectly told and photographed, acted and designed. The novel from which this four-part drama is adapted, "North & South" by Elizabeth Gaskell, escaped my radar when I was reading English novels in high school and college; it's a wonderful story and notable as a portrait of a man's unshakable love for a woman that he believes that he cannot have. No one plays longing as Richard can, (see photos above for proof) so if you adore this kind of thing but haven't yet discovered either N & S or the sensationally talented Mr. A., run, do not walk to the library or your computer for Netflix, or if you need immediate gratification, YouTube. I envy you if it's your first viewing! Come back and let me know what you thought!

Because I'm too busy with my hands, I made a bunch of widgets as an outlet for my obsession. There are some here and here.

Happy New Year!

It's the last day of this bizarre and often difficult year, but it has been a great one for me as far as creativity is concerned. I had a wonderful year on Etsy, selling three times as many pieces in this year as I did in my first year and a half. Had it not been for the economy, I would have exceeded my revised goals for the year, I'm sure. I've learned a lot and have some new plans for 2009, and have to thank my wonderful customers, friends and especially family for their support and encouragement. I want to thank my Dad, who has been my staunchest supporter and advisor. Thank you Dad - you are not on-line, but I want the people to know how much I appreciate your wisdom and love.



I just made these earrings and they're bright and festive for the New Year. It's snowing lightly again in NYC this morning, which dusts everything with gentle optimism, and I wish everyone a Happy New Year celebration, whether out at a party or cozy at home, surrounded with people or alone in reflection. It's a New Year, an uncertain one, to be sure, but I hope it will be filled with unexpected blessings!

The Unbearable Cuteness of Being

Luckily, I had my camera on hand when I passed these sweet babies in a pet shop window yesterday. I have no desire for an actual pet and the responsibilities that go with it at the moment, but I fell in love with the multicolored dachshund and hope that someone with a loving home will buy him. I could look at that face and cuddle this sweet dog forever in a parallel life!

There are more pictures here. Be warned - cuteness overload!

Fogalicious!

I was out running errands and noticed that the fog from Christmas Eve was still with us. The weather this weekend is warmer than usual after our snow of a week or so ago, and there's still some ugly black slush around, a little ice and a smattering of whiteness in the park here and there. It wasn't until twilight when I was able to get to the park again and the colors and mistiness were unbelievable. YES, there is s little PhotoShop magic happening, but it's very close to what it really looked like. There's more here and you can click on the slideshow to see them at their best.

It Rubs The Lotion On Its Skin Or It Gets The Hose Again

In November, after I listed my new Richard Armitage/Guy of Gisborne Objects of Worship, I received a query from a lovely fille in Paris asking if I could make a series of similar items for the Hannibal Lecter Canon. My customer is a huge fan of this character, has read the books and seen all the films and had very specific desires as far as what she wanted illustrated.

I had to think about this for a bit as some of this material is a bit grisly, but I do like this series, so I said yes. It ended up being five widgets: Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, two for Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising. The last two films are difficult to watch at times as the visuals and implied horrors are really, um, over the top and not for tender sensibilities. I had seen them all and even had some in my video library so it was easy to brush up on them.

The process involves making and printing graphics sized to the bamboo tiles (both sides), applying them, wiring them, choosing the hardware and charms; even though I've made a number of them by now, it still takes a lot of time and thought. Searching out specific charms is the most fun for me, but I do also very much enjoy composing the graphics. My customer provided all of the images but one, which I re-sized and adapted and she chose lines of text that were important to her for the "back" side of the tile.

It took about a month to put these together, allowing for delivery of new charms in addition to what I had or made to order.

Foggy Christmas Eve

I was on my way to a party in my nabe on Christmas Eve and was shocked by the presence of heavy fog - something I haven't seen up here. The Fog just stayed in the park, as it had risen up from the river - the Hudson River behind Inwood Hill Park. It was eerie and quite beautiful, and thanks to the lamplight, I was able to get some decent pictures. This one's a little blurry but it was the best one. We still had some snow left in the park, but as it was warm, it was melting fast, so the ground was slick and that added so much atmosphere. During my first trip to London in summer many years ago, we had an incredible pea-souper one night and it was very Ripper-esque.

The party was real change of pace as I haven't been to one locally for some time. Our hosts are lovely folks and their dog was most well-behaved, even while sitting near the pâté, without making a dive for it.

Happy Hanukkah

I know it's late, but I want to wish everyone a very Happy Hanukkah this year. I made my cards (again) and prominently featured two photos of my paternal grandparents, "Bubby" Rachel (nee Levie) and "Zadie" Samuel Finkle. My grandmother arrived at Ellis Island as a girl from Dundee, Scotland, where her family had emigrated from Lithuania. Her father was a goldsmith...I suppose this jewelry venture of mine has genetic origins? My grandfather came over on his own as a teenager, from Russia, and they met in Trenton, New Jersey, where they married, raised a family of eight (!) children and died in their nineties after celebrating their 75th anniversary. My father is the youngest of their children, and the only one living.

When I was in Edinburgh in 2003, by coincidence I stayed at a hotel across Princes Street from the National Archives of Scotland. I of course went there to see if there were any census records of the Levies in Dundee at the end of the 19th century, but sadly, I didn't find any. I also have been unable to find any Ellis Island immigration records of their arrivals. We do have these two wonderful early carte de visite photographs of them, which I have admired for years. They are very young, formally posed, well dressed and a bit apprehensive-looking, but they had to remain motionless for a long time in order for the picture to be taken. My grandmother was tiny, and by the time I met her, she was already quite elderly, so I never knew this darkly exotic young woman. My grandfather was also a very old man who was Orthodox and somewhat alien; he spoke English with a very heavy accent, never shaved on Sabbath (we usually visited on that day) so his beard was so scratchy (an anathema to a young girl) and didn't talk much generally. I so regret that I was too young to have asked them about their lives in the Old Country and journey to America. I was only around ten when they died, but they are very much alive for me via my Father's stories about them and his young years.

I used images from Hanukkah 2007 - framed pictures of Bubby and Zadie at my Dad's, his silver dreidel, one of his menorahs that I now use, and stock images of Hebrew type. I printed the graphic out and glued them to card stock for a quickie card - I never seem to get my act together to make holiday cards in advance. Sorry about the big old watermark.

Because my father was the last child that they had, and they were older when he arrived, and my father had a late start on his family, my grandparents are old enough to be my great-grandparents. It's hard to believe that in my family I am only a generation away from the 19th century, but that's the way it is, and it's special to me.